Foundation pier



J. M. FITZ GERALD FOUNDATION PIER Filed June 16, 1919 2 sheets-sheet l Mar. 6, 1923.

FOUNDATION 'PIER Filed Jime 16, 1919 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Mar. 6, 1923.

UNITE S'I' JOHN IVI. FITZGERALD, 0F RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS.

rouivnnrro v PIER.

Application filed June 16, 1919. Serial No. 304,640.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN M. FITZGERALD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of River Forest, Cook County, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Foundation Piers, of'which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to foundation piers for supporting an upright pole or mast rigidly in the ground, or for sustaining any other suitable device thereon.

The present improvements have been made in particular view of the art of signalling in railroad practice. For such signalling purposes a mast is erected in the ground adjacent to the track and this mast carries the signalling apparatus, such as lamps, wings, vanes, etc., which may be operated electrically or otherwise. In some instances the pier carries crank and compensating devices for the push-and-pull rods operating certain types of signals.

In the early practice simply wooden poles were planted in the ground, and later these were coated with cement at the lower portion to prevent rotting. Subsequently iron poles, sometimes also coated with cement,

were placed in the ground, and still later it i became the practice to form in situ a concrete pier or mass of concrete, by pouring the cement and sand or gravel mixture into a hole in the ground, and to secure the iron mast or other devices upon it by means of projecting bolts. This last mentioned practice has been substantially the universal one for many years.

The objection to the last mentioned practice, briefly, consists in the great wastage of materials due to the mixing of concrete at the place of operations, the necessity for an over-supply of materials at each place being called for, which over-supply is usually dissipated; also in the requirement of a fairly large number of workmen to construct the pier in situ also in the fact that the worktrain necessary for continuing the operations from place to place is usually required to move away considerable distances to get upon a sidetrack soas not to interrupt trafiic; also in the fact that thework couldbe done only in dry'weather. Thus the work was very slowly andexpensively performed. Many other important objec tions could be named.

In order to overcome some of the fore.- going disadvantages I- suggested heretofore in practical use a solid, monolithic .pre-cast concrete pier having a flat top and bottom and upwardly tapering sides of the general configuration of the piers shown in the ac-. companying drawings. I found, however, that the solid pier was so heavy as to require a goodly-sized gang'of men and special apparatus to install it and, importantly, it was impossible to position'the pier in the ground so that its top surface I was horiszontal, necessary to give perpendicularity to the mast. The difficulty was found to be that it was impossible to work earth, stones, etc, under one or more portions of the bot tom surface of the pier as required; and to bring about the desired adjustment it was v necessary to lift the pier out of the hole, frequently several times, before a satisfactory ad ustment was made, all at a considerable cost of labor and time of installation.

The principal objects of'the p'resentim.

provements are to overcome the many objections to all hitherto practice, in providing a pier structure which may be installed expeditiously by only a few' workmen; one

which is relatively cheap of manufacture; one which is strong and yetcomparatively light-weight and avoids the usepof. excessive material; one which may 'be transported very conveniently from placeto place With out wastage and loss; one which provides effective support for the mast or other structure thereon; one which in some forms of the construction, may be of such small parts" as to be handled and assembled by two men; one which provides a hollow interior for the accommodation of apparatus which in some instances may be desirable to install there; and, importantly, one which may be adjusted very readily without removal so as to provide the desiredhorizontal condition of the top surface; and,in general, to provide a relatively cheap, strong and durable, easily and readily installed and highly efiicient pier for the purposes described.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification, I have illus trated these improvements in preferred and modified forms, The feature of a hollow interior open at the four sides andat the bottom is common to all of theforms.

In this connection it is pointed out that I heretofore piers or pedestals in pre-cast concrete form have been suggested for fence posts, as witness the patent to Stewart et al. Nol 749,337 of January 12,1904, which post or pedestal is open at two sides, but is not open at the bottom, and does not provide the advantages of the constructions respectively herein set forth.

in these drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the preferred construction where the entire pedestal is a single mono-v lith; Fig. 2 is a bottom viewof the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a metallic frame constituting the reinforcing forthe device of Fig. lfFig. 4: shows one of the four sections of reinforcing iron used in making the cage of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a side view of a sectional construction in which the device of ibstantially the construction of Fig. 1, but on a smaller scale, constitutes the upper section, and in which the pier is increased in length by the addition of lower monolithic sections; Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively top and bot tom views of the device of Fig. 5, Fig. 7 also representing a bottom view of each of the three sections of Fig. 5; Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are side views of other sectional forms of the device; Figs; 11, 12 and 13 are respective top views, and F igs. 1 k, 15 and 16 are respective bottom views, of the devices of Figs. 8, 9 and 10; Fig. 17 is a side view and Fig. 18 is a top view of a monolithic structure having provisions for adjustably mounting thereon such devices as cranks and compensators for the signal switch rods; and F 19 is a fragmentary section through one of the bolt-holding slots in the table of the device of Figs. 17 and 18.

. In making the monolithic device 20 of Fig. 1 I provide first four of the frames 21 shown in Fig. 4a, which may be of any suitable iron and which, in my practice, is the commercial twisted square iron used extensively for reinforcing concrete. Each of these frames 21 has an upward extension 22,

and when the four frames 21 are wired together to form the cage 23, as shown in F 3, these extensions 22 form legs for supporting the cage during the pouring operation. This cage is inverted and placed with the legs downward in a sectional mould or form having the out-side configuration of the pedestal 20- and having cheek extensions to form theside openings. An inner form is provided having the interior shape of the monolith 20. Cores are inserted for the. central hole 2 1 and for the holes for the bolts 25, and thereupon the concrete mixture is poured into the mould and allowed to harden. I

The practice of moulding concrete articles is so well known that it is only necessary to point out the desired shapes to en.- able anyone skilled in the art to provide the desired form of mould in any of the illustrations herewith.

The bolts 25 may be given a firm seat by meansof the angle irons 28 which serve as bracing elements and also prevent the heads of the bolts from turning. The belt holes for the bolts 25 are recessed somewhat to accon'imodate the nuts 29 whereby the bolts are made tight and rigid while the nuts are fiush. with or below the top surface of the pier, leaving the ends of the bolts projecting upward as studs. The flange of the mast or other device to be held is secured to the pier by other nuts upon these studs 25.

Itwill be noted from Figs. 1 and 2 that the four sides and the bottom of the monolith are open to its hollow interior, and that this structure consists of a flat top or table portion having four downwardly projecting legs, with connecting transverse members 27 between the adjacent legs at the lower portions thereof, which connecting members, together with the ends of the legs constitute the base of the device, which base is shown as rectangular in outline, flat at the bottom, and of material width so as to provide a firm seat upon the ground. In this struc ture the reinforcing extends longitudinally within the body of each leg and transversely in the top or table portion and also in the lower transverse members, the reinforcing being doubled in the legs, and all of the reinforcing being strongly wired together, as at 30, Fig. 3. The structure is thus made very strong while having a large hollow interior and open sides and bottom making for a great reduction in weight over a solid construction and consequently rendering the device capable of installation by a relatively small force of men, making it readily adjustable, and providing a firm seat, and affording also the numerous other advantages hereinabove set forth.

In installing the device of Fig. l a hole is first dug in the ground and the bottom thereof is substantially leveled. The monolith 20 is then lowered into the hole. In subsequently all cases it is found that the top surface of the structure is not horizontal. Thereupon' the advantages of the open bottom and sides are developed, for it is now possible for the workmen, by means of tamping bars inserted in the side openings of the device, to force earth and stonesunder the lower sides or corners of the monolith until the top surface is perfectly level. Not only that, but a substantially permanent horizontal condition of the upper surface can be obtained by tamping stones and earth under the base of thepier at all portions thereof so asjto produce a firmer seat for the pier than that provided by the earth alone, and the workmen are able to do this tamping easily and expeditiously.

After the pier 20 has been thus given a solid foundation and trued up, theearth is filled into the middle portion of the structure through the side openings and such earth is also tamped until it becomes solid, and, as the filling proceeds the tamping is conparatus may be installed in the hollow in terior of the pier. In some instances the electric wires will issue through the central top opening 2 1 and proceed upward through the hollow interior of the mast to apparatus carried thereby.

The device of Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is the preferred sectional construction where it is desirable to reduce the we-ight of individual parts, whereby the pier may be handled more easily and installed by a still smaller number of men. The top section 35 is in all material respects like the monolith 20 already described. Its only departure'therefrom is device of Fig. 5 may in its being shorter in the up and down directions, and in the provision of holes in the transverse top and bottom members for the bolts 36. The sections37 and 38 are merely square elements in top or bottom view, as shown in Fig. .7, a hollow interior open at top and bottom and at the four sides. The openings for the bolts 3601* 38 are formed by cores in both the top and bottom transverse elements, andthese sections can therefore be readily bolted rigidly to each other. Grating between the sections may be used. A further advantage of this construction is that should soft earth be encountered, such as sand or loam, not capable of forming a firm seat for the pier, the excavation may continue downward until solid earth is reached, and thereupon the sections such as 37 and 38 may be installed one upon the other until the addition of the top section 35 brings the pier to or slightly above the surface of the ground. A further advantage of this construction is in the fact that the lower section, as 38, may be positioned and leveled horizontally, and the tamping underneath all of the bottom portions thereof may be done with no more of the pier in the hole than that one section. This one section may have earth and stones filled into its middle portion and around its sides and thoroughly tamped and made solid, with its top surface horizontal before another section is applied, and so on until the top is reached. The individual sections of Fig. 5 are relatively light and easily handled, both in shipment and installation.

The reinforcing of all the sections of the be in accordance with thecage of Fig. 3, although for the sections 37 and 38jthe corner memberswill naturally be on vertical lines instead of on a slant.

.In the device of Figs. .8, 11 and let, I

provide an upper member. or table 40 in the form of a monolith, a bottom 41 in the form of amonolith, and four corner pieces or legs 42 each in the form of a monolith. Four bolts {13, passing through cored holes in the bottom, legs, and top, hold the parts rigidly together. The topis provided with.

corner recesses M and the bottom with similar recesses 45 to accommodate the ends of the legs, adding to the rigidity when the parts are bolted together. device isadvantageous in all ofthe broad respects hereinabove pointed out, and is advantageous over the device of Fig. 1 in the This form of fact that the bottom may be installed and made firm and horizontal by tamping, and thereupon the legs 12 can be slipped over the upwardly projecting bolts and the top 40 applied and bolted down. Thereupon thefilling-in can proceed in the described way. Bolt holes and conduit holes are provided in the top of the device as in the device of Fig. 1. Reinforcing'iron such as &6, which preferably passes around the 'bolt holes, is placed in both the top and bottom portions of the device. The uprights 412, being strengthened by the bolts 43, will not ordinarily, require to be otherwise reinforced. The parts of this structure are rela tively light andare e'asily'handled and .assembled by two-men. 1 1

i In the structure of-Figs. 9, 12 and 15 the device consists 'of-two monolithic parts which are counterparts of each other and may be made from a single mould. These parts 50 and 51 are secured together by the upper transverse bolts 52 and by the lower transverse bolts 53, and the bolting together is done before the pier is inserted in the hole. The leg elements 54 are 'reinforced by the iron 55 which preferably has a loop extending, around the transverse .bolts, as well illustrated in Fig. 9. A particular advantage of this form of device is that a single mould will sufiice for the complete structure and. the parts may be easily handled andinstalled. The structure. is also of relatively light weight, and provides the general advantages In the device of Figs. 10, 13. and. 16 the structure consists of four units 60, 61, 62, .63, each of which is a counterpart of any. of the others, and they can all, therefore, be made from the same mould. The sections are held together by transverse bolts 64, 65,

66 and 67 in both the top and bottom. Reinhereinabove pointed out,

and may be easily and cheaply made'and handled. The general advantages of 'installation which have been enumerated with respect to the device of Fig. l are also present in the construction of Fig. 10.

The structure of Figs. 17 and .18 is substantially that of Fig. 1 as to its unitary, monolithic character, and as to the reinforcing contained in it, and it is to be understood as l'iaving its four sides and bottom open to thehollow interior. It is rectangularly oblong instead of square. The central opening 70 is chiefly to reduce weight. Jolt slots 71 are formed in the top or table '72, the slots having an enlargement at 73 for the head or the bolt 74, which bolt is provided for securing the cranks or comp ensator devices upon the pier. Openings T5 at the ends of the slots '71 permit the heads of thebolts to be inserted there, whereby the bolts may be applied fromthe top, and the bolts are slidable longitudinally in the slots 71 for purposes of adjustment. Transverse reinforcing iron 76 is provided adjacent to the slots (1 to strengthen the concrete at that place. This monolithic structure may be'pro'vided with bolt holes 77 adapting it to sectional use, as in the device of Fig. 5.

While I preferably make these several forms of the device of concrete, the invention is not limited to the material employed, nor to the specific forms or arrangements of parts shown in the drawings.

I claim:

1. Hollow pier construction of the character described comprising a' structure having a materially thick substantially flat top ortable portion and a ring-like base, both or" hardened concrete or the like, thetop having an Opening therethrough for wires extending from the hollou interior and'having spaced-apart means for holding a super structure thereon. reinforcing elements in said top. a plurality of legs of concrete or the like in relatively widely-spaced-apart relation'rigidly connectingthe'top or table and the base. reinforcingelements extending longitudinally in said legs. said structure having a substantially large hollow interior, the base being of material width where it rests upon the ground and having a relatively large opening in communication with said hollow interior, the base having reinforcing'elements therein.

2. A pier or pedestal 0f the character described comprising a truncatedsubstantially pyramidal structiiire having a top or table portion of hardened concrete, with a hole therethrough for wires from the hollow interioiymeans for securing asuperstructure th'ereol'i, a plurality of concrete legs in space l-apart relation depending from the top or table, and concrete transverse members connecting the adjacent lower endsof said legs respectively, the structure having a relatively large hollow interior with relatively large openings thereinto between the leg members, there being a relatively large bottom opening defined by the bottom transverse members communicating with said hollow interior, and reinforcing members in the top, legs and bottom, said reinforcing members forming substantially a ring in the top and also in the bottom of the device.

3. A sectional unit of hardened concrete or the like for a pier of the character described comprising upper transverse 'mem bers forming substantially a ring, lower transverse members forming substantially a ring, and spaced-apart legs connecting the upper and lower transverse members integrally together, forming frame-like structure having a relatively large hollow interior open at the'top and atthe bottom through spaces delined'by the upper and lower transverse members: respectively and also open substantially widely between the adjacent ones of said legs to provide for filling and tamping through such open spaces between said legs.

4. Pier construction ofthe character de "scribed comprising in combination a' plurality of sections with means securing the sections rigidly together, one above another, each section comprising lower transverse members forming substantially a ring-like member, each section having spaced-apart leg members'extending upward from its bottom ring-like member, one of'the'sections upon which another section rests having uppe'rtrai'isun'se members forming substantially a ring-like member which substantially conforms'to the shape of the lowerv ring-like member of such resting section, the structure as a whole defining a relatively large hollow interior open at thebottom through the space defined by the lowermost ring-likemem'ber, and open also at the sides between the adjacent ones ofthe leg members of the sections respectively.

JOHN M; FITZGERALD. 

